Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot
by ytteb
Summary: A story in which NCIS went AU from the beginning of season 6 - picks up a few years later. Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

It was a quiet day in the squad room. Bishop and McGee were finishing off paperwork from the most recent case and, as it had been ten minutes since Gibbs had sat at his desk, it was likely he would be on the move soon as he began to feel restless. Gibbs' phone rang, the junior agents looked up hopefully: they were as inclined as Gibbs to get antsy after sitting still too long.

They heard him say, _Gibbs_ and then almost immediately, "DiNozzo? Tony, is that you?"

McGee and Bishop abandoned any pretence at indifference as they listened in although Gibbs' responses of _uh uh, what_ and _where_ didn't provide much enlightenment. After a few minutes, Gibbs put the phone down and looked into space for a moment or two,

"Grab your gear," he announced.

Bishop and McGee jumped to their feet and grabbed their packs.

"You'll need your go bags," Gibbs said.

"Boss?" asked McGee, "where are we going?"

"Maine."

"Uh. Why?" asked Bishop tentatively.

"That was Tony. DiNozzo," said Gibbs and even as the words were out of his mouth they heard the sound of running feet from the elevator.

"Tony?" squealed Abby, "did you say Tony? Where? Where is he?"

The MCRT team members looked at one another blankly but decided it was probably best not to enquire how Abby had been alerted to the name of DiNozzo being spoken.

"Abs," said Gibbs calmly, "he called from Maine. He's not here."

"Oh," said Abby disappointedly, "oh."

"Why'd he call, Boss?" asked McGee.

"Says there might be something … hinky … going on around Portsmouth Naval Base," said Gibbs.

"Why didn't he tell the State Police?" asked Ellie.

"Well, Special Agent Bishop," said Gibbs sarcastically, "he thought he'd inform the Federal Agency that deals with the Navy. The federal agency that pays _our_ wages."

"Yes, Boss, I knew that," said Ellie, "I meant, it's just a bit odd for a civilian to come straight to us."

"Tony isn't a _civilian_ ," said Abby fiercely.

McGee couldn't help but be accurate, "Well actually, Abs, he is." Then encountering her glare he hastened to say, "But not like other civilians, of course."

"Better, Timmy," said Abby, "better. Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, can I come too? Pretty please? Please?"

"Not this time, Abs," said Gibbs. "Or at least, not yet. I need you here and so far there's nothing that needs forensics."

"Oh," said Abby sadly, "but give him a hug from me."

Gibbs looked blankly at her. Tim hurried to shake his head to make it clear he was turning down hugging duties.

"Abby," said Bishop hastily, "I've never met the guy. How can I hug him?"

"Oh, _honey_ ," drawled Abby, "believe me, when you meet him you'll want to hug him."

"Gotta go, Abs," said Gibbs.

"Wait, wait," said Abby, "if I can't go then at least take Bert with you. I'll just go get him."

"You've got till we've gassed the car," said Gibbs tolerantly.

"I'm gone," said Abby earnestly. She paused by McGee's desk and hissed, "Gas it _slowly_!"

"Uh, Boss," said McGee as Gibbs strode to the elevator.

"What?" asked Gibbs impatiently.

"It'll take about ten hours to drive to Maine. Even if _you_ drive." He suppressed a shudder at the thought of being in a car that long with Gibbs. "Will be quicker to fly. We can hire a car when we get there."

"Good thinking, McGee," approved Gibbs.

"I'll book flights?" said McGee.

"Nope," said Gibbs happily, "there's bound to be some cargo flights going to Portsmouth. We'll hop a ride with them."

Ellie and McGee groaned at the prospect.

NCISNCIS

Cargo planes weren't exactly quiet but Ellie didn't think there would have been much chatter on the flight even if it had been some deluxe corporate jet. She was oddly excited at the prospect of meeting former Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo whose name was still apt to prompt various reactions in the Navy Yard.

The other members of the team never really spoke of the former senior field agent but she had noticed that Gibbs had smiled when he realised who was on the phone. Bishop found it a little odd that, for an agent who had left NCIS about six years before, he still exerted a big influence. Abby was prone to remembering a particular joke or phrase and would often sigh when a new movie was released that nobody had been to see or when nobody appreciated her tarot card reading. McGee would wince when he saw a bottle of superglue and once, when she complained about always being called Probie, he told her that she was getting off lightly compared with what Tony had put him through. She had finally gone to Ducky for information. It was, she reasoned to herself, part of the analysis of the team.

Ducky had smiled wistfully, brewed a pot of tea and settled down to tell her the story.

"Some of it is, of course, classified," he sighed, "and may I say at the outset, how deplorable I find that?"

Ellie nodded sympathetically, not wishing to divert Ducky.

"You will no doubt recall that Director Shepard was ki … died in unfortunate circumstances?"

"Yes," agreed Ellie, "we heard about it at NSA."

Ducky nodded gloomily. "Indeed. That led to the appointment of Leon Vance as the new Director."

Ellie nodded cautiously.

"Our esteemed Director had a problem to solve. He believed that there was a mole in NCIS. This is also classified, my dear."

"I've got an extremely high clearance," Bishop reminded him.

"Anthony sometimes essayed a joke on that subject," Ducky reminisced as he sipped his tea. "No matter. The new Director's first step in his plan to unearth the mole was to split up the MCRT. He assigned Jethro a new team which consisted of all the suspects. He surmised that the famous Gibbs' _gut_ would sniff out the rogue in double quick time."

"And did it?" asked Ellie.

"Not as quickly as he had hoped. Officer David was returned to Israel to do some work on the _de-moling_ while Timothy was sent to the Cyber Crimes unit to perform various vital decryption activities. Anthony was assigned to be Agent Afloat: in some ways it was a logical deployment as it could have been construed as a beneficial career move."

" _Could_ have been?" asked Ellie.

"Indeed. You see, while Timothy and Ziva were assigned to assist in the mole hunt, Anthony was not."

"And that's important?"

"Anthony believed he was re-assigned as punishment."

"What did he think he was being punished for?" asked Ellie.

"Ah," said Ducky, "the circumstances around Director Shepard's death."

"Her house was burned down," said Ellie.

"Yes, it was," said Ducky, "a tragic loss of a fine building."

"And she was in it," probed Ellie.

"So you say, my dear."

"I don't understand," said Ellie, "Agent DiNozzo wasn't responsible for the fire, was he?"

"No," said Ducky firmly, "no, he wasn't. Let me just say that following Jennifer's untimely demise Anthony was reassigned to be Agent Afloat in a manner which made him feel that he was being punished. Whether or not he was right to believe so is not something which I am competent to judge."

"I can't imagine Gibbs being happy," mused Ellie, "he doesn't like me even getting a coffee for someone in another team. I don't want to think what he'd be like if his team was split up."

"Ah," said Ducky, "therein lies something of the problem. Anthony came to believe that Gibbs also blamed him …"

"For the Director's death in an accidental house fire?" asked Ellie sceptically.

"As I say," said Ducky, "it was a complicated situation."

"And was Agent DiNozzo right to think that Gibbs was angry with him?"

"That is something that you would have to ask him," said Ducky, "but I should say that Jethro was most upset when Jennifer died. It may have led him to be less … intuitive about Anthony's state of mind than he might otherwise have been."

Ellie digested what Ducky was hinting at, "and what happened?"

"Anthony came to see me the night before he was due to fly out to the USS Ronald Reagan. He told me that he had decided to resign rather than take up the new posting."

"Why?"

"He didn't want to go. He feared that the new Director did not have a high opinion of him and that he would never be assigned to a more congenial posting."

"Was he right?"

Ducky sighed, "I don't know. You have to understand that Anthony was … is … a unique person. He has many gifts and skills and was a very fine agent but … he has a very distinctive character which takes some getting used to. Shall we just say that Director Vance had, at that point, had insufficient time to become aware of his many sterling qualities? I tried, unsuccessfully to dissuade him. And he was aware of the difficulties of his position."

"How so?" asked Ellie.

"Before his sojourn at NCIS, Anthony had, through no fault of his own, passed through three police forces in fairly rapid succession. His employment history did not demonstrate much staying power. He was, of course, employed by NCIS for a longer period but he was not sure what weight this would have, especially given the rumours going round about Jennifer's demise."

"But he still went?"

"Yes. He felt that Director Vance was more inclined to approve of agents like Timothy with their technical abilities. Anthony was, as I say, a very fine agent but he was cast in the more traditional mould and his bachelor's degree was in physical education – not one which Leon would value very highly. I fear, however, that the main reason for his resignation was that Anthony did not believe that Jethro supported him. I blame myself to some degree."

"Why?"

"When he came to me I thought I had succeeded in getting him to rethink. Indeed he left me with his luggage and made his way to the Portsmouth Navy Yard to join the aircraft carrier. I should have gone with him perhaps."

"What happened?"

"He called me later the next day to say that he had gone aboard. Seen his quarters, sensed what the ship was like and decided that he could not go through with it. He walked off the ship and told Leon that he was resigning with immediate effect, although of course, like all of Jethro's team he had a considerable period of leave to take."

"He just left?"

"Indeed."

"And what did he do?"

"He disembarked from the ship in Kittery and settled in the same State, Maine."

"Doing what?"

Ducky looked embarrassed, "I fear I do not know exactly. I tried to stay in contact and, at the beginning, he responded although at that time he was largely drifting through Maine. Which I believe is a very beautiful part of this country."

"Did anyone else keep in touch?" asked Ellie.

"They tried," said Ducky, "but the first months after he left were difficult ones for the team. They had been split up, dispersed and reassigned to matters of national security so it was hard. And Anthony felt a degree of guilt over what had happened which made it difficult for him to maintain contact. Remember that I said he felt he was to blame for … well … the circumstances surrounding Jennifer's death. He has always had a tendency to take things on himself."

"Still …" began Ellie.

"I know, Eleanor, that it sounds reprehensible but perhaps I should remind you how difficult it is to maintain relationships in this line of work? Especially when you are under the auspices of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. I don't wish to bring up painful memories but your own marriage foundered under the strain so perhaps it is not surprising that, over time, the correspondence between Anthony and his former co-workers faded away. I believe Mr Palmer still receives a card at Christmas."

"And he was a good agent?" asked Ellie.

"Very much so," said Ducky, "I believe Jethro thinks him to be the best agent he ever worked with. Although I fear that Jethro was not always very forthcoming in letting him know but you, dear Eleanor, will know that your Boss employs the stick rather than the carrot!"

"And Agent David?" asked Ellie, "was there some mystery about her leaving as well?"

Ducky laughed, "Not really. I suppose it is possible that Anthony's departure triggered her own. I must confess the state of their _relationship_ was a main source of fodder for the gossip mills but I was never able satisfactorily to analyse what went on between them. Sometime after her father died, and I confess that some of those circumstances are also classified, she decided she needed to 'find herself' in some way and she left both the agency and the country. It was a sad time for us," he paused, "but of course, we were delighted when you finally arrived to lighten our lives!"

Ellie remembered that conversation with Ducky as the airplane came in to land at Portsmouth. She realised she was looking forward to meeting the best agent Gibbs had ever worked with.

"Where we going, Boss?" asked McGee as they piled into the waiting car.

"DiNozzo lives out in Cumberland County," said Gibbs, "about an hour away."

"Is that an hour in normal driving or your driving?" asked Ellie.

Gibbs just smiled, "we'll be there before dark."

Ellie and McGee made sure to be holding on to something and Gibbs set the car going. McGee wondered what it would be like to see Tony again. He remember the many pranks and the lengthy period of hazing he and Kate had inflicted on their Probie but he also remembered Tony diverting Gibbs' wrath, Tony turning up at his apartment after he had shot the undercover police officer, Tony showing him how to do the job. It wasn't until Tony wasn't there any longer that Tim had realised how big a part of his life Tony had become. He had felt both angry and sad that Tony had quit and he regretted that he hadn't worked harder to keep in touch but they worked at a fearsome pace and it was hard to stay connected to people that he saw every day, let alone those who lived a ten hour drive away who felt they had let their team down. Perhaps this would be their chance to reconnect – although Tim would be wary of keyboards which might have been spread with superglue.

Gibbs wasn't good at admitting to his feelings but, as he drove along, he was conscious of a settling in his gut as he was about to see Tony again. Nevertheless, he found himself tensing a little as he steered the car though the large gateway and saw a familiar figure waiting for them.


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs was out of the car almost as soon as he hit the brakes. When he'd answered the phone that morning, the one word 'Gibbs?' had been enough for him to know who was calling. He hadn't spoken to DiNozzo for getting on for six years and sometimes went days without thinking of him but that one word had brought Tony instantly to mind. Now he hurried towards Tony and then paused in front of him. Grey-green eyes met blue ones with a hint of doubt and then Gibbs stepped a pace closer and did an odd sort of chest bump which was the nearest he could come to a hug. Amusement replaced the doubt in Tony's eyes as Gibbs laid a hand on his shoulder,

"You stink!" exclaimed Gibbs.

Ellie might not have seen Tony DiNozzo in the flesh before but she had seen him smartly dressed in team photos and remembered Abby's promise that to see him was to hug him. Bishop frowned at the thought of embracing the guy standing close to Gibbs. It was unmistakeably the DiNozzo from the photos but, apart from being older, he was incredibly badly dressed. He was wearing a mismatched threadbare tracksuit and ratty trainers and appeared to be covered in dried mud. Gibbs' accusation that he stank might have been harsh but somehow Bishop didn't think he'd be winning any awards for Body of the Year any time soon.

"Nice to see you too, Gibbs," said Tony placidly, "I meant to take a shower but you got here quicker than I expected. Somethings never change, I guess."

"Jeez, what were you doing, DiNozzo?" asked Gibbs as he withdrew his hand.

"This and that," said Tony vaguely, "we were getting the pitches ready for the new term. Had to clear out a ditch, it was beginning to smell."

"You don't say," said Gibbs drily.

"Hey, McGoo," said Tony as he spotted McGee standing by the car.

"Tony," acknowledged McGee as he held out a hand and then changed his mind as he got closer.

"And who's this?" asked Tony as he saw Ellie, "are you the Senior Field Agent?"

"No!" said McGee in an outraged voice, " _I'm_ the Senior Field Agent!" He then huffed a laugh when he saw the delighted look on Tony's face as he had caught Tim out again. "Like you said, DiNozzo, some things never change."

"I'm Bishop," said Ellie. Tony raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "Eleanor Bishop. Ellie," she sighed, "I'm the Probie."

"Oh, I know that look," said Tony, " _Eleanor Bishop, Ellie_ … is Senior Field Agent Timmy McGee giving his probationary agent a hard time?"

Ellie was fond of Tim and didn't want to seem disloyal so she shrugged an eloquent shrug.

"Good work, McTaskmaster," said Tony approvingly.

Tim gave a watery smile.

"Wow," said Ellie, "I'd heard about the nicknames but … I hadn't realised …"

"What? How inventive they are? How imaginative?" prompted Tony.

"No …" said Ellie honestly, "how _relentless_ they are." She looked up at Tony and saw something in his eyes that did after all prove that Abby was right. "Abby sent a hug," she said and wrapped her arms round his middle. "And eww, Gibbs was right, you do stink!" She drew back and held her nose.

"What is this place?" asked McGee.

"Oh, that's right," said Tony, "the entrance sign is down at the moment, being repainted. This, Special Agent McGee, is Wood Lake High School. 695 students due to return next week from Spring Break."

"And what? You work in the _grounds_ here?" asked McGee beginning to feel bad for not having kept up with his former co-worker who seemed to have fallen on hard times.

"Sometimes," said Tony defensively, "when they need me. Nothing wrong with getting your hands dirty, McFastidious."

"No," said McGee hastily, "of course not. It just looks … odd on you. You were never that keen on dumpster diving back in the day."

"Times change," said Tony with a flash of bleakness.

"Enough chitchat," ordered Gibbs, "what's up, DiNozzo?"

"You know, Gibbs," said Tony with a touch of worry, "I can't believe that you just rushed up here after that one call. I kinda thought you'd do some digging back in DC."

"You saying you got us up here on a wild goose chase?" said Gibbs slightly menacingly.

"No, Gibbs. No, I'm not saying that," said Tony firmly, "it's just that I hardly said anything and here you are. You didn't drive, did you?"

"No," said Bishop feelingly.

"We hopped a cargo flight," said Tim with equal intensity.

"Ah," said Tony in sudden understanding, "that explains why Gibbs looks so happy."

"DiNozzo!"

"OK, but you've got to admit, Gibbs, it's kind of odd that you got here so quickly."

"Your gut saying something's going on?" asked Gibbs.

"Yes," said Tony.

"That's always been good enough for me," said Gibbs simply.

Tony looked Gibbs in the eye and nodded slightly.

"It's getting dark," he said, "I need to lock the gates. Why don't we head back to my place? Talk over food. I'm hungry," he looked towards McGee, "hard physical work gives me an appetite."

"OK," agreed Gibbs, "we'll follow you."

A few minutes later they were following Tony. McGee's worries had increased when Tony had climbed into a beat up Land Rover Discovery which was probably not much younger than Bishop.

"Boss," he said worriedly, "do you think Tony's all right?"

"What you mean?" replied Gibbs.

"Well, you know."

"No, I don't know. Explain."

"The way he's dressed. The smell! And the car. The old Tony wouldn't have been seen dead dressed like that, unwashed like that and driving a wreck like that."

"People change," said Gibbs simply.

"But …" began Tim.

"Tim," said Gibbs sharply, "I can either chew the fat with you or concentrate on following DiNozzo. Your choice?"

"Driving, Boss," said Tim hastily, the roads were narrow and winding as Tony seemed to be leading them deeper into woodland and he really wanted Gibbs to be focusing. After a few minutes, Tony indicated he was turning left and they followed him up a narrower and bumpy track until they came out into an open space. Tony pulled up in front of a sprawling wooden house with a huge wrap round porch.

"Better?" asked Gibbs drily.

McGee breathed a sigh of relief; this certainly looked more acceptable. Tony went through the back of the house and in through the kitchen. Tim noticed that the door seemed to have been left unlocked.

"Make yourselves at home," said Tony, "I'm just going to jump in the shower," and he pointed to a room off the kitchen.

Left alone, the MCRT gazed round what they could see of the house and McGee's misgivings flooded back. It was clear that the house had potential, there was a huge open plan double height living area off the kitchen and some doors off that suggested more living space as well. A wooden staircase led up to another floor and they could see a wide landing with seats placed to enjoy the views across the hills. All that was good but, apart from the kitchen, there was no furniture and dust covered every surface. Even Gibbs began to feel some concern.

Tony soon reappeared wearing faded denims and a sweater that Tim recognised from his NCIS days.

"You sure it's all right to leave your doors unlocked here?" asked Gibbs.

"What?" asked Tony.

For answer Gibbs pointed to the empty rooms.

"Looks like you've been burgled," said McGee.

"Oh," said Tony in surprise, "oh. Well, we've been doing some work. It was meant to be finished by now but there was a hold up. The kitchen's done. Want some coffee? Something to eat?"

"Coffee," said Gibbs, deciding not to probe any further.

Tim hesitated, he thought about asking if Tony could afford to supply refreshments but decided he really needed a coffee and could arrange for some sort of care package before they left.

"Great," he said unconvincingly.

They all settled round the big kitchen table and watched as Tony began to make their drinks. Tim was relieved to see that the cabinets seemed to contain food as packets of cookies were placed on plates. Gibbs sighed appreciatively as he took his first sip of freshly brewed coffee,

"OK," he said, "you got us here. What's the problem?"

"It's hard to say definitely," said Tony, "it started when I was making some deliveries to the navy shipyard."

"What deliveries?" asked Bishop.

"Millicent makes homemade salt water taffy," said Tony, "it's great stuff. She sells it to the Commissary there. I've got some somewhere, I'll let you try it."

"And?" asked Gibbs.

"Oh, yeah. Well, she makes great candy but she's not so hot at driving. So I deliver it for her sometimes."

"You're a delivery driver?" asked Tim.

"Well," Tony shifted uncomfortably, "every little helps."

"Go on," said Gibbs.

"Right. So, when I take the taffy in, I get stopped at the main gate. Security is tight. As it should be although I've been driving there for a long time now and most of the guards know me. But I noticed that other people are getting waved straight in. Have you heard of Admiral Salter?"

"He served with my Dad," said McGee, "just retired from US Special Operations Command."

"That's right," said Tony, "and he lives a few miles from here. He set up some sort of training camp for people wanting to get into Special Ops. Not officially connected to the Navy but he takes groups on to the Navy Yard and, well, they don't seem to be inspected as closely as other people do."

"OK," said Gibbs, "and what's …"

"Tony," came a female voice, "take the baby, will you?"

Everyone turned in the direction of the voice and saw a woman leaning through the door,

"Oh. Hi," she said, "I won't come in. I emptied Wilson's commode on my foot and then Sydney threw up on me. I'll take a shower first."

Tony seemed unperturbed by this list of accidents, "Does she need feeding?" he asked as he went towards her.

"Should be all right for now. There's formula in the fridge. Perhaps get it out ready?" came the reply.

Tony took the baby and walked back towards his guests, "you can see why we have a bathroom just inside the door," he said as if that might be what was puzzling them. "This is Daisy," he said, holding up the tiny baby so they could see her better. "Let me see if I can find that taffy," he said, turning to rummage in a drawer while expertly holding the baby in one arm.

"Daisy DiNozzo?" asked McGee faintly as he managed to find his voice.

"Got it," said Tony triumphantly as he emerged with a box of candy which he offered round, "What?" said Tony, "oh no, Daisy isn't a DiNozzo. This is Daisy Cummings. Four days old. Her mom had to stay in the hospital, some complications after the birth but there's an infection going round the wards so it was decided it would be safer for the baby to come out. We're all taking turns. Pru must have picked her up while she was doing her care rounds."

"Pru?" asked Ellie.

"Pru Paston," said Pru who seemed to share Tony's talent for rapid showers, "pleased to meet you all. Tony said you were on the way but we thought we'd have more time to get ready for you."

Tony seemed to be absorbed in blowing bubbles at Daisy but pulled himself away to make introductions,

"Pru, this is Agent Jethro Gibbs and Agent Timothy McGee: I've told you about them before. And this is Agent Eleanor Bishop, she's new to the team. NCIS agents, this is Pru."

"Nice place you have here," lied McGee.

"It will be," said Pru serenely.

"When your brother-in-law gets organised," said Tony, poking a gentle finger into Daisy's tummy.

"Mac is decorating for us," said Pru, "he likes to do things on the big scale."

"He likes to _plan_ things on a large scale," said Tony, "we haven't had much evidence yet that he actually _does_ things."

"That's not fair," protested Pru, "this wasn't his fault."

"It never is," sighed Tony.

Pru ignored him and continued, "We cleared the downstairs of everything so he could make a good job of it all. He's going to reseal all the wood and sand the floors down. He made a start."

"And lots of dust," muttered Tony.

Pru hit him on the arm, "there was just a few days' work left, he'd done all the prep and then the Clancy house got flooded out. And …"

"And their need was greater than ours," agreed Tony, "So Mac is working at the Clancys and will come to us next week. If you'd come next week this place would have looked like something out of _Better Homes and Gardens_."

"Give me the baby," ordered Pru, "it's time you went to give Sophia her piano lesson."

"You give piano lessons as well?" asked Tim, getting more and more worried about the number of jobs Tony was doing.

"Every little helps," said Pru, echoing Tony's earlier words. "And, Tony, why did you leave that tracksuit in a heap in the bathroom?"

"I was in a hurry," apologised Tony, "and I think it needs to go in the trash. I wore it when I was clearing out the drainage ditch."

"Ike takes advantage of you," said Pru.

"Says the woman who got home wearing urine and vomit," replied Tony.

"You may have a point," she smiled. "Go! And do forget to drop in on Han and Tom afterwards."

"OK," Tony agreed, "sorry, former team, but I need to go do this. I'll be back in about an hour. We can carry on then?"

Gibbs nodded a bit helplessly. It felt strange to be near a Tony who wasn't at _his_ beck and call.

"Have you shown them where they'll be sleeping?" asked Pru.

"Oh," said McGee hastily, "we'll find somewhere. Don't worry."

Gibbs smiled at his discomfort and waited to see what would happen next. Somehow he felt that Pru was a very _managing_ sort of person.

"Nonsense," she said, "it's no problem. We've got the cabin for guests. Come on, I'll show you."

Gibbs' heart lifted at the thought of a cabin while McGee's plummeted at the prospect of what Pru and Tony might have done to one but he trailed obediently behind the others. Pru led them out of the kitchen and up a small trail, not before Tim had noticed that she seemed to drive a jeep as elderly as Tony's Land Rover. He sighed.

"Here we are," said Pru, as she opened the door to a substantial log cabin. "It's only got two bedrooms," she said, "but there's a pull-out sofa bed in the living area so you should be all right."

Bishop, Tim and Gibbs gazed round their temporary accommodation and felt instantly at home. The log walls seemed to glow, the furniture was upholstered in warm colours and everything seemed cosy. It was, McGee thought, what Gibbs' house could look like if he cared enough.

"This is great," said Ellie.

"Every little helps," said Pru.

"Why didn't you move in here?" asked Tim, "you know, when Mac … got delayed."

"Oh," said Pru, "it didn't seem worth it. We've got guests coming in a couple of weeks so we would have to clear out then anyway."

Tim nodded understandingly, he guessed that Tony and Pru couldn't afford to lose rental income from the cabin. Daisy began to whimper.

"This one wants feeding," said Pru, "I'll leave you to settle in. Come back when you're ready. We'll eat about 8, Tony will be back then."

"McGee, you've got the pull-out," said Gibbs when they were on their own.

McGee shrugged, somehow he wasn't surprised.

"Wash up. Back here in 30," ordered Gibbs.

Ellie and McGee nodded meekly, trying not to notice that Gibbs apparently thought they were teenagers needing to be told to wash. Ellie hoped that Gibbs wouldn't inspect behind her ears.

NCISNCIS

McGee spent the 'washing' time trying to disentangle the elements of Tony's new life. In some ways he seemed to be the same irreverent, teasing person Tim had once known but a Tony who held down multiple jobs, seemed to be living on the bread line but in a huge house must be different to the 'old' Tony. This Tony who blew bubbles at stray babies, who seemed unfazed by talk of vomit and urine and who allowed himself to be victimised by 'Ike' was a Tony out of his experience. It was, however, he had to think, a Tony who seemed at ease with himself. Although, Tim reflected, that might just be because it seemed odd to see a Tony who wasn't running round distractedly trying to second guess, and please, Gibbs.

As they returned to the house, they saw Pru watching as Tony fed the baby,

"Those jeans are big on you," she said.

Tony shrugged and seemed about to say something when he saw the MCRT standing in the door.

"Hey," he said, "lasagne OK for everyone?"

The others nodded hungrily and sat down at the table. A few minutes later as he looked at his heaped plateful, McGee was relieved to see that it seemed that the lasagne contained real meat and not some cheap substitute. Gibbs ate with concentration for a few moments and then said,

"OK. Admiral Salter. What about him?"

Tony swallowed his mouthful. "So, I've been around by his place a few times. I was driving the school bus … what did you say?" he paused to ask Tim.

Tim shook his head, "nothing, I just choked. This is really good lasagne."

Tony didn't look convinced but he carried on, "I drove the bus past his place three days running and there seemed to be a lot of coming and going."

"Might not be anything in that," said Gibbs.

"Doesn't quite add up," said Tony.

"The admiral is supposed to be sick," said Pru.

"So it seems odd that his place is busier than usual," said Tony.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Bishop.

Pru and Tony exchanged concerned glances.

"It's a bit tricky," she said, "some of what I know is from visiting him on a professional basis."

"You were one of his care givers?" asked Tim.

Pru stared at him, "I guess you could call it that," she agreed, "but I don't see him for that anymore."

"Why not?" asked Gibbs.

"His _associates_ said they were finding alternative care provision for him so I don't visit anymore."

"Rumour's going round the place said that he has the beginnings of memory loss," said Tony, "and that's not asking Pru to break any confidences."

"And you think that's true?" asked Bishop.

"Don't know," said Tony, "I saw him last weekend when I was making a delivery of taffy and he looked at me … oddly."

"How so?" asked Gibbs.

"He knew I'd used to work for NCIS. He sometimes liked to talk about visits to the Navy Yard in DC. And when we said goodbye he'd give me this mock salute. And that day in Portsmouth, he saw me. I'm sure he recognised me and for a moment his hand twitched but then he frowned and shook his head slightly."

"If he is suffering from dementia, his reactions might be odd," said Ellie reasonably.

"True," said Tony, "but it could also be a cover of some type."

"Cover for what?" asked Gibbs.

"I don't know, Boss. But there's something odd going on with someone who has pretty free access to the place where the US Navy services its nuclear submarines. How does that sit with you?"


	3. Chapter 3

Gibbs was up early the next morning and, smelling coffee, made his way into the main house. He saw his hostess in the kitchen,

"Miss Paston," he said, "Miss Paston?"

Pru jumped, "What?"

"I didn't mean to startle you," said Gibbs, "I was just going to ask if I could have some coffee?"

"Sorry," said Pru, "I'm not used to anyone calling me Miss Paston. Please, Pru is fine. And yes, of course, sit down, I'll get you a coffee. Tony warned me that you're a caffeine junkie – like me!"

Gibbs accepted the mug of coffee and sat down,

"What else did he tell you about me, Mi … Pru?"

"That you were demanding, stood no nonsense. Were hard on your team and harder on yourself." Gibbs shrugged in acknowledgement. "And I don't know if some things have changed but I'm guessing those haven't."

"I'm too old to change my ways," said Gibbs.

"That's sad," said Pru, "if we stop evolving we die."

"Has Tony changed?" asked Gibbs.

"I don't really know. It's difficult to tell when you're with someone all the time."

"You must have an opinion," said Gibbs, "how long have you known him?"

Pru stared at him. The previous night Gibbs had thought that her deep blue eyes were warm and friendly but now he discovered that they were piercing and intelligent too. "About five and a half years," she said finally.

"So," said Gibbs again, "you must have an opinion."

"Is this your _interrogation_ technique?" asked Pru, "I guess it is. Well, Agent Gibbs, yes I do have an opinion but I don't feel obliged to share it with you."

Gibbs looked at her speculatively over the rim of his coffee mug but any reply he might have made was forestalled by Tony's arrival.

"Morning," he said. He looked at the two occupants of the kitchen and sensed some tension, "what you talking about?" he asked.

"You," said Pru with a smile.

"Always an interesting and rewarding subject," said Tony. "I've changed Daisy. Where's she going today?"

"Back home," said Pru, "her grandmother has arrived from Philadelphia. She's going to take over."

"Shame," said Tony, "I'll miss getting up for those two hourly feeds all through the night."

"Don't exaggerate," said Pru sternly, "you know we took it in turns."

"I stand corrected," said Tony, "I'll miss those _four_ hourly feeds. You know, Gibbs, you should be glad you were in the cabin. Daisy has impressive lungs for a four day old. And she used them every one hour and fifty five minutes."

Gibbs got the impression, despite DiNozzo's grumbles, that he would miss the infant's presence.

"I'll get breakfast on, shall I?" said Pru.

Gibbs was about to nod assent when he saw McGee gesturing to him from just outside the kitchen.

"I'll be back in a minute," he said as he walked towards Tim, still holding his coffee. "What is it, McGee?" he asked.

"Boss, do you think we should go down into the town for breakfast?" asked Tim trying to be the considerate guest.

"What?" said Gibbs.

"Well, you know we can't expect them to feed us all the time."

Gibbs seemed to think about this, "Well, I guess Bishop does eat a lot," he said.

"So we'll go down to the town?" said McGee.

"Nope," said Gibbs, "Pru has asked us to breakfast and we'll accept. It'll save time."

"But …" began Tim.

"Look," said Gibbs, "if it makes you feel any better we'll find out what they charge for bed and breakfast and send the bill to NCIS."

Tim sighed with relief, "yes, that's a good idea. Oh, Boss …"

"What?"

"We'll have to pay for other meals too."

"Fine!" said Gibbs turning his back on his punctilious agent and walking in the direction of the coffee machine once more.

Pru and Tony provided the team with a breakfast apparently designed to fuel them for the day. Tim surreptitiously counted how many sausages, eggs and slices of toast were consumed so he could ensure that his hosts were not short changed. He hoped they were not depleting their food stocks too much. While Tim was distracted by his calculations, the special bacon had kicked off a food association for Ellie linked to her first case with NSA and she was in a happy reverie. Gibbs was the only NCIS agent fully focussed on the case. Having finished his own breakfast, he banged his mug on the table to bring everyone to attention.

"DiNozzo!" he rapped.

"Bo … Gibbs," said Tony springing back to life.

"Have you any free time today?"

"What?"

"Have you got to clear any drains, mark out any pitches or drive any school buses?" asked Gibbs.

"The bus has broken down," said Tony, "it's not going anywhere."

"You not fixing it?" asked McGee slyly.

"No," said Tony regretfully, "school buses need to be repaired by a qualified mechanic. I can only do the basic stuff. I'm just a labourer."

Tim nodded sympathetically.

"I've got some stuff to do," said Tony, "but I can probably give you some time. What you got in mind, Gibbs?"

"Could you do a delivery of that candy stuff to Portsmouth?" asked Gibbs, "take Bishop with you. Let her get a feel for security."

"Sure," said Tony easily, "I was going anyway."

"I've got a sack of seed potatoes for Chet," said Pru, "can you bring them to him on your way?"

"What about me, Boss?" asked McGee suppressing a grimace at Tony's continuing work as a delivery driver.

"Have you ever met Admiral Salter?" asked Gibbs, "you said your Dad served with him?"

"A few times," said McGee, "Dad didn't really go in for friends but, as much as he was close to anyone, I guess you'd say it was Admiral Salter. He came to the house a few times when I was growing up, before they were admirals."

"So it might not be out of the way if the son of an old friend happened to drop by?" suggested Gibbs.

"I guess not," said Tim, "why are we in the area?"

"Been out to help an agent afloat," said Gibbs, "came back to port in Portsmouth. Driving back, we thought we'd call in. Check for a possible carrier around here to make the story watertight."

"On it, Boss," said McGee.

"Let's go then," said Gibbs.

"You might want to wrap up warm, _Eleanor Bishop, Ellie_ ," said Tony, "Columbus is a bit draughty."

"Columbus?" asked Ellie, deciding to ignore the fullness of her name for the moment.

"Land Rover Discovery," said Tony, "Columbus – the Discoverer. Keep up, _Eleanor Bishop, Ellie."_

Ellie nodded and hurried off to collect a warmer jacket. Tim smiled at the thought that Tony had found another nickname victim. He also nodded happily as he noticed that, although Tony's jeans and sweater looked a little shabby, they were clean and hole-free and that his jacket looked warm. Characteristically Tony noticed his gaze.

"Mc _Lecherous_ ," he said, "anyone would think you were about to make an improper advance. Like what you see, did you?"

McGee was still spluttering and trying to find a reply when Bishop came back.

"Good job, E-Bee," said Tony.

"E-Bee?" said Ellie.

"Had to rethink," admitted Tony, " _Eleanor Bishop, Ellie_ was just too long. You're E-Bee for short. After all, you can't have a name that's longer than you are." Bishop stared at him. "Come on," he said, "time's a wasting."

He strode out of the room and Ellie hurried after him. The last thing the others heard was Tony saying, "Hey. Perhaps I should call you _heebie jeebie!"_

NCISNCIS

McGee waited until they hit a wide stretch of road before returning to the question he had asked Gibbs the day before.

"Do you think Tony is all right?"

Gibbs sighed, "Again, McGee?"

"Don't you think it's a bit odd? You know, the way Tony's living?"

"We're here for a _case_ , Tim; not for Tony."

McGee hesitated before replying, "With all due respect, Boss, I don't think that's true."

"McGee?"

"Boss, you spoke to Tony for about thirty seconds and the next thing we know we're racing to Maine. And … and … well, so far what he's told us is pretty thin."

"What you getting at, McGee?"

"I think that perhaps you were glad to have an excuse to come see him."

"Why would I need an excuse, Special Agent McGee?"

"Well, perhaps not an _excuse,_ " temporised Tim, "more like a _reason."_

"Is this a line of conversation you really want to continue with?" asked Gibbs coldly. He turned to look at McGee. Tim always found it unnerving when Gibbs took his eyes off the road for any length of time so he backtracked,

"No, Boss, it isn't. I guess I may have been transferring my feelings on to you."

Gibbs looked at him again; thankfully a more fleeting glance this time. McGee struggled on,

"I guess I've always felt guilty about losing contact with Tony. But you know, it was difficult. It was busy down in cybercrimes and we were doing all that investigating. And perhaps I felt important, being selected by the Director to do something top secret. And then we were all upset at losing the Director. Director Shepard, I mean. Not Director Vance. But you knew that. But it was difficult."

"You said that," said Gibbs.

"Yes, I know," said McGee, "but it was. Difficult, I mean. And then Tony left. And we knew that he felt to blame for what happened. And he thought you … I mean … _we_ thought it was his fault. But you … I mean … _we_ didn't but we were upset …"

"You said that too," said Gibbs.

"I know. I guess I just think I could have been a better friend. But it was difficult. Yes, I know, I said that before. But I worry that I could have done better. Especially now, seeing what's happened."

"What's happened, McGee?"

"Well, he seems to be living hand to mouth. No money. Dead end jobs. I feel that we … _I_ … could have done more."

" _McGee,_ " said Gibbs impatiently, "DiNozzo is an adult. He made his own decisions. You can't live his life for him."

"You mean you're not worried about him?" asked McGee.

Gibbs hesitated for a fraction of a second, "Didn't say that. But the case comes first. And I don't believe in second guessing decisions I've already made."

"Does that mean you do regret a decision?" dared McGee.

"Didn't say that either. Seems to me that DiNozzo has done all right for himself." McGee opened his mouth as if he would argue further but Gibbs swept on, "now. Admiral Salter. Think up a reason you might want to see him."

NCISNCIS

Meanwhile Ellie and Tony were driving towards Portsmouth. They had gone to Millicent Du Pont and collected a batch of salt water taffy for delivery and delivered the potatoes to Chet. Once they had left the small town of Trenchard, and Tony no longer had to return greetings from what seemed like every car driver on the road, he began to talk to Ellie.

"So, E-Bee," he said, "how long have you been on Team Gibbs?"

"Over two years now," she said, trying to be grateful she was no longer heebie jeebie. "I used to work for NSA before."

"Figures," said Tony.

"Why?"

"The McGoo is about the only person Gibbs has recruited to his team who was already working in NCIS. I was working for Baltimore PD, Kate was Secret Service, Ziva was Mossad … there's a pattern there."

"I like patterns," said Ellie.

"And do you like NCIS?"

"Mostly," said Ellie, "it's tough at times. Gibbs is tough."

"And McGee? How's he been as your trainer, your guru, your _eminence grise_?"

"Great. Although I think I have you to blame for the amount of grunt work he has me do."

"You're welcome," said Tony. "But you're glad you made the jump? You said it's been tough."

"Sure," said Ellie, "I've learned a lot. Got out from behind a desk. You know, got out from doing everything in my head."

Tony laughed, "I don't think my former co-workers would ever accuse me of doing _anything_ in my head! I have a tendency to think out loud. It can be annoying. _I_ can be annoying."

"They say nice things about you," said Ellie earnestly, "how you made great breaks on cases."

"And I bet they say they were usually from movies," said Tony.

"Uh, sure," said Ellie, "but even if they are from movies, you have to know how to apply them. I think that takes brains and insight."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you, EllieBellie," said Tony. "So, what's been tough? You can tell Uncle Tony."

"My marriage broke down," admitted Ellie.

"That is tough," agreed Tony, "the MCRT is like a jealous partner, doesn't really want its members to have anyone else in their lives."

"Is that why you left?" asked Ellie.

"Nope," said Tony, "I screwed up. You don't do that on Team Gibbs."

"But you weren't fired," said Ellie, "You were just re-assigned."

"Have you been investigating me, Special Agent Bishop? Tell the truth. I'll know if you don't."

"Ducky," admitted Ellie.

"Ah," said Tony with a smile, "the good doctor. He tried to persuade me to bite the bullet and sail the seven seas but somehow it just didn't appeal. The taste of failure in my mouth was already making me nauseous, I didn't want to risk adding seasickness to the mix."

He turned and gave Ellie a beaming smile. Ellie tried to smile back but found it quickly faltering. Up to now she had found Tony's smiles relaxed and endearing but this dazzling example was somehow superficial and meant to deceive.

"We're nearly here," said Tony, "we'll be stopped for the first time soon. Remember, when you're asked for ID just show them your driver's licence, not your creds."

NCISNCIS

The MCRT plus Tony reassembled at lunchtime.

"Report," said Gibbs, as he chewed on one of the sandwiches which McGee had managed to persuade him to pick up as they drove back through Trenchard. Tony had looked a bit surprised when the food had been produced but had tucked in willingly enough.

"I'll let E-Bee report," said Tony, "just had a call from the school. Something's come up that they need me to fix."

"Ike?" said McGee.

"Travis," said Tony, "something about windows needing to be cleaned."

"Go," said Gibbs.

"Tell Pru that I'll be back about 7.00pm. There's a choir practice at 6.00pm."

"You're in a choir?" asked Bishop.

"No, of course not," said Tony scornfully, "I just play the organ for them at practices."

With that he was gone, leaving McGee and Gibbs looking after him in some astonishment.

"OK," said Gibbs when he had recovered, "report."

"Right," said Ellie, "security seemed fine. They did all the checks you'd expect. They remembered Tony but still asked for ID and did a sweep of Columbus. And they were checking all the vehicles, not just a random selection. What happened at the Admiral's place?"

"All seemed fine," said Tim, "we just drove up to the main gate. Explained who we were and why we were there and we were welcomed in."

"And how was the Admiral?"

"Very polite. I'm not sure he remembered who I was. I mean, he knew the name – or seemed to. Said he'd been sorry to hear that my Dad had died and we shared a couple of reminiscences about him."

"Were they real ones?" asked Ellie, "I mean, not sending a secret message?"

"Not that I could tell," said McGee, "I could try checking with my Mom and Sarah to see if they match with anything Dad had mentioned to them."

"Do that," ordered Gibbs.

"Did he seem under any pressure?" asked Bishop.

"No," said Gibbs, "he wasn't completely at ease but that might tie in with him beginning to suffer from dementia. Might not be comfortable with changes of routine or people he doesn't know."

"What about the other people there?" asked Ellie.

"Nothing obvious," said Gibbs, "but they knew we were from NCIS so they'd have been careful not to act at all suspicious. We saw some people training in the grounds but they seemed to be running cross-country not firing illicit weapons."

"So there's nothing going on?" said Bishop.

"Didn't say that," said Gibbs.

"Then what?" asked McGee.

"I don't know. Something's not right," said Gibbs. "I need a basement."

"Boss?" asked McGee.

"Somewhere to think. There was something not right. I saw it but I can't remember what it was," said Gibbs.

"Did you take photos?" asked Bishop.

"Come to think of it, yes, we did," said Tim, "the Admiral insisted on having his picture taken with us."

"Except he made it sound as if _you_ were asking for it to be taken," said Gibbs.

"Yes. And he moved us round so we were standing in front of the house," said Tim.

"OK," ordered Gibbs, "get that photo out of your phone and downloaded or printed or whatever it is you do."

"Yes, Boss. Um, what are you going to do?"

"Going for a walk. Going to think," said Gibbs.

Once she was sure Gibbs had gone, Ellie said to Tim, "Did you know that Tony left NCIS thinking he was a screw up? That he didn't have a future on Gibbs' team?"

Tim winced, "I'm not surprised. I guessed it was something like that. I tried to talk to the Boss about … well … what Tony is like now."

"And?" asked Bishop.

"And I got the brush off. I think there's something going on there. I reckon Gibbs feels a bit, not guilty obviously, but uncomfortable about what happened. That might be why he was so eager to come up here. But you know Gibbs, the case comes first. He's not going to talk to Tony about _it."_

"Then perhaps you should," said Ellie.

"Should what?" asked Tim.

"It sounds as if you've got your own bridges to mend. You don't have to wait for Gibbs before you do anything."

"I guess you're right," said Tim reluctantly, "but I think our first priority is to do what Gibbs told us. Don't you?"

Ellie nodded fervently and they bent to their work.

NCISNCIS

As it happened, Gibbs didn't get far on his walk. He went round the back of the house in search of the lake access he had been told about and found Pru in a huge storage unit. He realised that he shouldn't have been surprised that she was covered in dirt and dust: it seemed to be part and parcel of living near Tony.

"Hi," she said, "are you lost?"

Gibbs hid his annoyance at the suggestion that a Marine Corps gunnery sergeant could get lost within yards of habitation and simply said, "What you doing?"

Pru seemed to consider what she knew about Gibbs, "this is where we're storing the furniture until Mac gets the work finished," she said, "I was just looking at it and giving it a dust."

Gibbs peered in, saw the neat piles of wooden furniture, smelt the polish and immediately felt at home, "I can help with that," he said.

Pru took him at his word, pointed him towards a box of rags and various tins of polishes, waxes and oils and said, "That would be great. I've got to go. I want to look in on Tom and Han. I'll see you at supper."

Gibbs barely noticed her going as he was already absorbed in bringing the dingy furniture back to life.

NCISNCIS

Later that evening the MCRT and Pru were once more gathered round the kitchen table. McGee had looked askance when Gibbs had returned to the cabin with grimy hands and a contented look on his face; McGee wondered if dirt was contagious in Maine. Gibbs' beatific state had not helped him track down what had piqued him about the Admiral and the photo didn't give him the answer either. Tim had sent a copy of the photo to Abby so she could do an analysis of it and hopefully spot something that he, Bishop and Gibbs had missed.

"How was choir practice?" asked Pru when Tony walked into the kitchen.

Tony winced, "the altos fell out with the sopranos again. And one of the basses kept on trying to sing the tenor line."

"Sounds like the Director's monthly supervisor meetings," said Gibbs who was still in something of a meditative state after an afternoon waxing and polishing.

"Any breaks?" asked Tony who, McGee was relieved to see, had returned clean and not in urgent need of a shower.

"No," said Tim, "did you get the windows done? You know, every little helps."

"What? Oh, yeah, all sorted. The students will be able to see out when they come back. What's that?" he asked, pointing at the photo.

"We think there might be a clue in it," said Bishop.

"The Admiral seemed keen for us to take it," said Tim, "the only slightly odd thing about the visit."

"There's something niggling at Gibbs," said Bishop.

"There's always something niggling at Gibbs," observed Tony, "it's a law of nature."

"Well, it's only niggling at the moment," said Gibbs, "I need it to shout."

"We think it might be something in the background," said Tim helpfully, "he seemed to want to make sure he stood right there for the picture."

"We sent it to Abby," said Ellie, "she'll enlarge it. She may spot it."

"If you got Abby on the job, it'll be fine," said Tony. "What's for supper? Did McChef find an excuse to buy us some food?"

Tim choked on a reply, suddenly worried that he should have gone shopping. Pru took pity on him.

"Tim's not your Probie now," she rebuked Tony, "don't tease him. We've got the pot roast that I made this afternoon while Agent Gibbs was polishing our furniture. I'll just go get the wine." She went into the utility room.

"Thanks, Gibbs," said Tony, "might have known you'd have licked us into shape. Nothing sloppy about you. Not like the Admiral."

"What you mean?" asked Gibbs suddenly alert.

"Well, perhaps Admiral Salter has relaxed his standards a bit now he's retired," said Tony.

"What?" asked Gibbs.

"Well, I may be wrong; and out of date, but that Special Ops Command emblem on his sweater looks upside down to me."


	4. Chapter 4

"Where are they?" asked Pru when she came back with a bottle of wine in each hand.

"Went back to the cabin," said Tony calmly.

"Why? Did you say something to offend them?"

"No," said Tony. He then continued smugly, "I may have given them a break in the case. Gibbs has whisked them away to consider next moves."

"But what about supper?" asked Pru.

"First casualty in a Gibbs war is food," said Tony, "they'll be back when they're done."

"Shall we wait for them?"

"No. They can have it later if they want."

"Oh," said Pru, still standing with the bottles of wine, "Oh."

"What's the matter?" asked Tony seeing a disappointed look on her face, "What's up?"

"I'm just being silly," she said, "I'd forgotten that there was a case. I felt as if they had come as friends. And now they rush off to work."

"Doesn't mean they're not friends as well," said Tony, taking the wine off her and putting an arm round her shoulder. "Work comes first."

"Was that what it was like? When you were on the team?" asked Pru.

"Guess so," said Tony.

"It seems a bit … harsh," said Pru.

"You get used to it," said Tony.

"Do you miss it?" asked Pru. "The excitement, the drama?"

"Sometimes," said Tony. He saw a sudden doubt in her eyes, "but there was an awful lot of boring routine as well. And stakeouts in the middle of winter in cold cars eating cold takeout and trying not to fall asleep."

"Do you need to go see what they're doing?" asked Pru.

"Nope. I'm not on the team now. So I get to eat the pot roast and drink a glass of wine. And if it's all gone by the team Gibbs puts its head over the parapet, well, that's tough on them. Come on, let's eat. And you can tell me about your day. Did anyone throw up on you today?"

NCISNCIS

Ellie and McGee trailed a little disconsolately behind Gibbs as he strode back to the cabin. The smell of the pot roast wafted after them and McGee found himself wishing that Tony's epiphany moment had been delayed a few minutes.

"McGee," said Gibbs, "see if there's any satellite coverage available of the Admiral's estate. If there isn't, get some arranged."

"Yes, Boss. Um, what are we looking for?" asked McGee even as he charged his laptop up. "Right. We'll know when we see it," he added hastily when Gibbs simply glared at him.

"Bishop. Do a thorough background on the Admiral and his family. Look at his finances, see if there's been any unusual expenditure or income recently. See if you can find out who's staying at his place, who's currently on his training courses. Try and track anyone who's completed one of the courses, see if we can find out what happens on one of them."

"Yes, Boss," said Ellie. "You think the emblem was a signal?"

"I don't think the Admiral has got sloppy," said Gibbs, "remember that DiNozzo said that the Admiral shook his head when he saw him last week?"

"Yes."

"Maybe he was gesturing towards the emblem. He might have thought that DiNozzo would notice it being on wrong," said Gibbs.

"Was that the sort of thing Tony noticed when he was on the team?" asked Ellie. McGee and Gibbs nodded distractedly. "That's not from a movie," said Ellie softly under her breath.

After a couple of hours' hard work, Gibbs relented enough to allow them all a meal break. They went back to the main house to find the kitchen was tidied up and clear. Gibbs felt a slight sense of shock that Tony and Pru weren't sitting there waiting for them to return; somehow he still expected Tony to be focussed on the case.

Pru was sitting at the kitchen table tapping on a laptop. She looked up as the team came in, "Hi," she said, "there's pot roast keeping warm in the oven if you want some. Help yourselves. I just need to finish checking details of the care visits."

McGee nodded and started getting out plates and silverware.

"Where's Tony?" he asked.

"Oh, he had some work to do," said Pru vaguely.

"He's gone out?" asked McGee.

"No, he's in the den. He's looking at possible pieces for a music competition."

"Sophia?" asked Bishop.

"No. Sophia's sorted. This is Miguel; he's good but he gets nervous, Tony needs to find a piece that he'll enjoy but not get flustered over."

"How many pupils has Tony got?" asked Tony.

"Three. No, four. He doesn't take them on until they've reached a reasonable standard. He used to have more but now that he's a judge now as well so he doesn't take on so many. What?" she said as she looked up to see bemusement on McGee's face.

"Nothing," he said, "just didn't realise Tony was so much into his music."

"Well, he wasn't," said Pru, "but every …"

"… little helps," finished Tim.

"Yes," said Pru. "Do you need anything else? If not, I'm going to bed. It's been a long day. There's pie in the fridge and some ice cream if you want it. I'm sure Agent Gibbs knows where the coffee maker is!"

Gibbs simply lifted a fork full of pot roast as acknowledgement of her invitation.

NCISNCIS

Pru's pot roast was undoubtedly delicious but it lay heavily on Tim's stomach that night. That, at least, was his justification for a sleepless night and the reason for him being up early the next morning. He went for a walk to clear his head in readiness for a demanding day of Gibbsness and found his way to the lake where he saw Tony sitting with a fishing pole in his hand.

"Fishing?" queried Tim.

Tony turned and smiled, "Hey, McEarlyBird!"

Tim sat down beside Tony and said once more, "Fishing?"

"Ah. Well, it seems a bit wasteful to live on the edge of a lake and not fish."

"Every little helps, eh?" said Tim.

"What?" said Tony, "well, I guess it would if I knew what I was doing. There's brown trout in here but I think they just get together out there and laugh at me. I've never caught anything."

"Then why do it?"

"I'm hoping to lull them into a full sense of security and one day a fish will commit hari-kari and throw itself on to my hook. Should I even have a _hook_?"

"Don't ask me," said Tim, "never really got into fishing."

Tony nodded and returned to contemplating the still surface of the water as if he could will a suicidal fish to swim by.

"So," he said, "how's the love life, McRomeo? Teamed up with any more madwomen who've stolen your credit cards?"

Tim decided to ignore the painful memory and to refrain from giving details of his other romantic mishaps, "I'm in a committed relationship, thank you," he said a little primly.

"Way to go, McGoo," said Tony, slapping him on the back, "I'm proud of you."

"Her name's Delilah," said Tim, manfully ignoring a stifled chuckle from Tony, "she works for DoD."

"Look at you," said Tony, "my little Timmy is all grown up. Well done!"

"She's in a wheelchair," said Tim, "got injured in a terrorist attack."

"Jeez," said Tony penitently, "I'm sorry, Tim. That's tough."

"We're getting there," said Tim, "we're living together. It's working out."

"Good," said Tony, "that's good. And the writing? How's that going? Can't say that Viggo Lance is my favourite character but thank you for not killing Agent Tommy off."

"You're welcome," said Tim.

"Not so sure about you sending him off to live in the Outback of Australia to 'find himself' but you're the author."

"I wanted to be able to bring him back if I needed to," said Tim.

"Not going to happen," said Tony.

"Tony," said Tim, "I'm sorry!"

"For what?"

"The way things ended," said Tim.

"Forget it, Tim, it wasn't your fault."

"Still …" began Tim.

"Tim," said Tony firmly, "I screwed the pooch in LA. I deserved what I got."

"Tony, it wasn't your fault. You followed orders. Director Shepard knew what she was doing. There wasn't anything else you could do."

"Oh, yeah," said Tony bitterly, "you think that Gibbs wouldn't have done something different? Wouldn't have saved the day?"

"You're not Gibbs," said Tim.

"Heard that before," said Tony.

"Mike Franks was there," said Tim, "if he couldn't stop it what makes you think you could have?"

"If we'd got there a bit sooner we could have tried," said Tony.

"Yes, and maybe you and Ziva would have been killed too," said Tim, "I never told you how relieved I was that it wasn't you or Ziva who were dead when the phone call came in."

"You were?" said Tony a little doubtfully.

"Yes, I was," said Tim firmly, "and we … I … never made it clear enough that I didn't think it was your fault that the Director died. I'm sorry."

"That's OK, McGee," said Tony patting him on the shoulder.

"I should have kept in touch after you left," said McGee.

"Works both ways," said Tony, "I wasn't exactly correspondent of the year. And I know how busy it is working for Gibbs."

"But …"

"No buts," said Tony, "we could have both done better. You know where I am now. And, Tim, it wasn't because of you that I left."

"Gibbs?" asked Tim, "He said it wasn't your fault."

"With Gibbs actions speak louder than words," said Tony, "he said the words but he never backed them up. All I could see was the sadness and anger in his eyes and I knew it was me who put them there. I half expected him to turn up at the apartment while I was packing up that day but he never showed. I ended up going to see Ducky the night before I was due to sail."

"Perhaps Gibbs expected you to show up at his place?" suggested Tim.

"Maybe," said Tony, "but Tim, you were there in the days before the funeral. You saw what he was like with me. Was there any suggestion I'd have been welcome at his place?"

"I don't know," said Tim, "I don't know. But I do know it wasn't fair what happened to you."

Tony shrugged, "Comes with the territory, I guess. I was in charge: my responsibility, my punishment."

"You weren't in charge," protested Tim, "Director Shepard was."

"I think that's called semantics," said Tony, "not something Gibbs is big on."

"Tony …"

"Enough," said Tony, "it was a long time ago, Tim. I'm doing all right for myself. Who knows what would have happened if I'd stayed? Didn't feel that Vance would have reassigned me to the Navy Yard without Gibbs pressing for it and that didn't seem likely. Besides, I wasn't his kind of agent. He likes the geeky ones."

"Thanks," said Tim.

"You know what I mean. He was always going to prefer agents who can type with more than two fingers. And we didn't exactly get off to a good start when we met with Jeanne accusing me of murder."

"You were innocent," protested Tim.

"Wasn't a great first impression, though," said Tony, "and first impressions count."

"He thought enough of you to send you to Baghdad with Nikki," said Tim.

"Probably hoped I'd be blown up," said Tony gloomily, "but, no, you're probably right. And it doesn't matter now."

"What happened?" asked Tim, "when you got on board the Ronald Reagan?"

"It felt claustrophobic," said Tony, "couldn't stand the thought of being at sea with everyone hating me. I realised I was only at NCIS because of Gibbs – take him out of the picture and there was nothing to stay for. So I decided to quit. Sent an email to Vance and walked off."

"Did you tell Gibbs?"

"No. He wasn't my Boss anymore. And it didn't feel like he'd care much. Would have been a waste of time and you know how he feels about waste."

"We missed you," said Tim, "when Ziva and I were reassigned. It didn't feel right. Gibbs was grumpy; well, grumpier than usual. Abby had a Tony shrine and was really pissed at Gibbs."

"Did you make Senior Field Agent?"

"Not at first. Vance insisted on giving Gibbs other guys."

"Bet that worked well," huffed Tony.

"It was almost fun to watch," said Tim, "or would have been if it hadn't been terrifying as well. There was one guy, former Marine – Gibbs made him cry; actually cry! Then Vance tried a woman, a former Metro PD lieutenant: she walked out after two days but she tipped Gibbs' coffee over his head before she went."

Tony laughed.

"I think Vance began to realise how good you were after that," mused Tim, "He gave up on a substitute you at that point. Asked me if I was insane enough to take it on."

"And you were?"

"What, insane? Yes, I guess so but somehow I thought I owed it to you."

"Why?"

"'Cos you'd trained me. 'Cos you cared about the team and I didn't want it to collapse."

"And how's it been?" asked Tony.

"I've nearly killed Gibbs a few times," admitted Tim, "you know, thought about rigging a firing range 'incident' or setting his computer to explode."

"But you haven't," observed Tony.

"No. I want to keep my pension," said McGee with a straight face. "And I guess I'm used to the ornery so and so."

"Is that so," said Gibbs coming up behind them.

"Boss!" jumped McGee in horror.

"Gibbs," acknowledged Tony placidly.

"You planning on doing any work today, Special Agent McGee?" asked Gibbs coolly.

"Yes, Boss. Of course, Boss," said Tim.

"Good," said Gibbs. He took a long look across the lake and then turned back to the house, assuming McGee would follow him.

McGee stood up but paused before turning, "Thanks, Tony," he said, "and, for the last time, I _am_ sorry."

"I know, Tim," said Tony, "and thank _you._ " They looked each other in the eye for a moment or two but then heard Gibbs roar, "Today, McGee!" Tim jumped in a manner not entirely befitting a NCIS Senior Field Agent and scurried towards the house.

NCISNCIS

"What do you know about Admiral Salter?" asked Gibbs as they all sat at breakfast.

"Retired about two years ago," said Tony, "I think he was born around here somewhere. He spoke about returning to where he was brought up. Being close to Portsmouth was a draw. He wanted to keep in touch with the Navy."

"And this camp he runs?" asked Bishop.

"Started about a year ago," said Pru, "he runs two courses a year. Usually last three months or so."

"How do people get on them?" asked McGee.

Pru shrugged, "don't know. It's not the sort of course I'm interested in! I think they pay. Usually young men, I'd guess the Admiral drives them pretty hard – they don't make it into town very often."

"You said it had been busier than usual," remembered Gibbs.

"A course finished just before Christmas," said Tony, "usually another one wouldn't have started until later in Spring but one started in February."

"And when did the rumours about him suffering from memory loss start?" asked McGee.

Tony looked at Pru, knowing she wouldn't answer. "Round the same time," he said, "which, like we said, seemed a bit hinky."

Gibbs nodded. "Has he got family?" he asked.

"Widowed ten years ago," said McGee, "one son and two grandchildren who live in Nauru."

"Nauru?" asked Gibbs.

"Remote island in the Pacific," said McGee, "Christopher Salter is doing research on the marine life there."

"Good luck," said Tony, "I've got to go."

"Deliveries?" asked Bishop.

"Piano lessons?" asked Tim. "Ditch digging?"

"School is back next week," said Tony vaguely, "there's tidying up to do. I won't know till I get there."

"I'll come too," said Pru, "I need to get on the road."

Gibbs watched them go; it still felt odd to have Tony around but not involved. McGee broke the ensuing silence,

"Uh, Boss. What we doing?"

"Get the satellite coverage," ordered Gibbs, "then you and Bishop drive round. Casually. Speak to people nearby. See if you can pick up any scuttlebutt."

"On it, Boss," said McGee and Bishop.

NCISNCIS

Some hours later Gibbs raised tired eyes from poring over the satellite pictures. Nothing had jumped out at him although he could see that there had been night-time movement of heavy vehicles. He hoped that the fresh surveillance due that night might bring fresh intelligence.

"Hi," said Pru, as she and Tony came back. "Decided to finish early today. It'll be busy next week."

"Yeah," said Tony, "once the kids come back everything goes crazy."

"I'm going to stretch my legs," said Gibbs, feeling the need for fresh air.

"I'll put the coffee on," said Pru, "so don't be long."

Gibbs nodded. If it felt odd not to have Tony involved with the case it also felt odd that Pru seemed actually to like his presence.

Gibbs hadn't been gone long before there was a frantic knocking at the front door. Tony sighed and went to open it.

"Admiral Salter!" he exclaimed in shock.

"I didn't know where else to come," he gasped, "I thought you could help."

"Come in," said Tony. "Pru!" he called.

Pru came running at the sound of urgency in his voice.

"Ed! What are you doing here? Sit down, calm down. Breathe. Do your exercises. Tony, get him a drink of water."

The Admiral was pale and sweaty but clearly trying to gather himself together. After a few moments, when it seemed he was more composed, Tony asked,

"What's wrong, Sir?"

"I think my family are being held hostage. And I think there's going to be an attack on Portsmouth! I managed to slip away this afternoon. They thought I was asleep."

"How did you get here, Sir?" asked Tony.

"There was a motorbike they didn't know about," said Salter, "I haven't ridden it for years but it was the only way I could get here."

"Who's 'they'?" asked Pru.

"Pru," said Tony, "go get Gibbs. He needs to know."

Pru nodded. She paused to look at the Admiral to make sure he was recovering and then hurried out. She was back almost immediately.

"Did you forget something?" asked Tony in surprise.

"Not really," said the stranger who was holding a gun to Pru's head.


	5. Chapter 5

Gibbs found himself in the furniture storage unit. He ran an appreciative hand over an oak cabinet; he had done good work the previous day but there was still more to do. He was about to return to the house when his cell rang,

"Gibbs."

"Boss. McGee here. We've been driving round and stopping off in local shops and places where students might go. You know, diners and drinking places."

"And?"

"Nothing really. People say they don't really see anyone from the Admiral's place. They used to. Previous courses, the attendees used to come out at night and weekends. To relax and have a good time but this one, not so much."

"What about the Admiral?"

"Again, they used to see him round the place quite a lot but recently they've only seen him drive past. They say he looks a bit vague but they'd heard he was ill so they weren't surprised."

"OK," said Gibbs, "come on back."

"Yes, Boss. Oh, Bishop tried to check in on the Admiral's family."

"Tried?"

"They're about 17 hours ahead of us. Might be too early in the morning there but the phone wasn't working. We've got Abby on it now."

"Good. McGee, d …"

"What, Boss?"

"Hang on, McGee. Someone's just gone into the house. Left a motorbike on its side by the door."

"Probably someone wanting Tony to deliver something," said McGee.

"Probably," said Gibbs with a grin. "OK, come on back."

Gibbs clicked his phone shut and began to walk towards the house. As he did so he saw a large van pull in and three men get out quietly and go to the door. Something about the way they acted made the hairs on the back of Gibbs' neck stand up. Matching their stealth he crept to the kitchen window.

"Boss?" said Tim as he answered his phone, "it's too soon for us to be back. We don't drive like you."

"Tim," said Gibbs softly, "we have a situation here."

"Boss?"

"A van arrived just after the guy on the bike. Three men went into the house, they're armed."

"Boss? You sure they're not just visitors?" said McGee hopefully.

"One of them's holding a gun to Pru's head. And I think the guy on the bike was the Admiral. What do you think?"

"What do you want us to do?"

"Get on to Vance. Tell him to shut the Admiral's place down. We don't want anything happening there. Get on to the Maine State Police. Tell them we have a hostage situation and to have troopers on standby."

"On it, Boss. We'll be there as quick as we can, about ten minutes," said McGee, "er … nobody's hurt are they?"

"No, although Salter doesn't look good. Quickly and quietly, Tim. Park across the entry when you get here and come up the track on foot. I'll put the phone on silent so you can call if you need to."

McGee resisted the urge to check that Gibbs knew how to change the setting on his cell, reflecting that, in an emergency, Gibbs seemed to manage technology.

NCISNCIS

In the house, Tony was trying for outraged innocence.

"What's going on?" he demanded. "You can't just come storming into the house like this!"

"We just did," said the man who seemed to be in charge.

"We haven't got anything worth stealing," said Pru.

"No," agreed the man who was holding the gun to her head, "seems pretty sad in this day and age. Lovely house going to rack and ruin."

"So," said Tony, "you made a mistake. Why don't you just leave and we'll forget this ever happened. You thought you were going to get away with money here but you were wrong."

"OK," said the leader blandly, "we can see we were wrong. We'll be on our way."

"Fine," said Tony tensely, "we won't tell anyone."

"We'll take the Admiral with us," came the reply.

"But he's sick," said Pru, "he needs help."

"We'll get him help. Promise."

The Admiral got up, "I'm sorry Pru. I got confused, I shouldn't have come here. I forgot," he tried to smile as he prepared to leave with the gunmen.

Tony instinctively reached out to pull him back. The leader laughed.

"Yeah, somehow I didn't think you'd let him go! Why don't we all sit down?"

"What's going on?" asked Tony, "what do you want with the Admiral?"

The leader laughed again, "What is this? You playing for time? Hoping that we'll tell you everything that's going on? That we're so full of ourselves that all we want to do is boast? I don't think so."

"They're planning an attack of some sort on the Navy Base," said Salter, "they've been using my training course as a cover. Seems a previous student told them that I could get anyone on to the base without security checks. They saw it as an opening."

"Shut up, old man," shouted the leader. He swung his gun at Tony's head and he toppled off his chair to the floor.

"What did you do that for?" demanded Salter. "It was me who was speaking."

"We need _you_ ," said Tony's attacker, "don't want any bruises on the face that opens so many gates to us. And you're the hero type. Don't care about yourself but you won't want to see anyone suffering because of you."

Pru tried to wriggle out of her captor's grasp, "Let me help him," she pleaded.

The leader nodded, "you know what I'll do," he warned, "don't try anything clever."

Pru nodded and ran over to where Tony was blinking uncertainly on the ground.

"Ouch," he whined, "why did you do that? I wasn't doing anything."

"Are you all right, Tony?" asked Pru.

"Of course I'm not all right," complained Tony, "I've just been hit with a gun. It hurts. I feel sick. I'm fed up with you collecting all these waifs and strays. From now on, we keep ourselves to ourselves."

"OK," soothed Pru, "that's what we'll do. Now, why don't you sit back up at the table? Carefully. I'll get a cloth for your head."

Tony took her hand and tried to get up. "Oh," he moaned, "I feel sick. The room's spinning."

"OK," said Pru, "why don't you just stay down there. I'll get that cloth."

"I'm cold," groused Tony, "I'm shaking."

"That's the shock," cooed Pru, "you'll be all right. I'll get you a blanket, to keep you warm."

"No blankets," said the leader, "no-one's going anywhere."

"I'm not going to _try_ anything," protested Pru, "I just want to look after him."

"He'll be fine."

"The floor's hard," said Tony.

"Suit yourself," said the leader unsympathetically.

"What's the plan, Joe?" asked the gunman who had been holding Pru.

"Joe?" asked Pru, "you don't look like a Joe."

 _Joe_ replied, "we're not amateurs. We're not going to use our real names. Today, I am Joe. This is Fred. And we have other 'friends' you haven't met yet."

"Phone back to the estate," ordered Joe, "tell them we've got the old man. We'll bring the plan forward. I doubt if anyone's going to miss these two losers but we won't take the chance." He turned to the Admiral, "you're going to come with us. Don't forget, we've got your family. Don't try anything if you want to see them again."

"There's no answer," said Fred.

"What you mean? No answer?" demanded Joe.

"I've tried all the phones. They're dead."

Joe stared at the Admiral. "Sid!" he called. A third man came into the room. "Cover them," Joe ordered Fred and Sid, pointing at Pru and the Admiral. He then strode over to Tony and hauled him to his feet, "Right, Admiral," he said, "tell us what you did."

"I didn't do anything," said the Admiral.

Joe hit Tony with his gun once more. "Tell me," he ordered, "or the next time I'll put a bullet in his stupid head."

"Stop it," complained Tony, "I haven't done anything! Leave me alone."

"All right," said the Admiral, "I palmed the sleeping pill you gave me at lunchtime. I needed to get away. I found a public phone box and tried to call Christopher. I wanted to check if you were telling the truth about having him. But I couldn't get through. I decided to come here …"

"Why here?" asked Joe, "why not somewhere closer? Or why not come back to the house?"

"I-I-I wasn't feeling good. I thought Pru could help. She has before."

"You didn't call the cops? Or the Navy?"

"He told you he didn't," whined Tony, "leave us alone."

Joe shook Tony in irritation, "shut up," he hissed, "nobody wants to listen to your moaning. Admiral, I'm waiting."

"No," said the Admiral in apparent defeat, "I wasn't thinking clearly. Pru has been kind before so I came here. Pru, I'm sorry."

"Do you think there's something wrong back at the estate?" asked Fred.

"Don't know," said Joe, "we've got the equipment in the van. It won't be as good as if we did the original plan but it will still be worth it. We'll attack now."

"What about these two?" asked Sid, gesturing to Pru and Tony. "The woman might be useful if the old man gets sick. We could put her in the back of the van."

"No," said Joe, "we won't risk it."

"We could tie them up," said Fred, "it's pretty remote here. It'll be a long time before anyone finds them."

"No," said Joe, "they can identify us. No point risking it. Sid, take the old man out to the van."

As he said this he shoved Tony back on to his chair but Tony simply charged headfirst back at him knocking him to the floor. At the same time Gibbs ran into the room with his weapon drawn. Fred pointed his gun at Pru so Gibbs shot him in the leg; as Fred fell to the ground his weapon fired into the ceiling. Tony was still struggling with Joe but even as Gibbs made his way towards him, he managed to deliver a final punch and knock him out.

Tony rolled away and lay panting on the ground.

"What about Ed?" asked Pru.

Just as Gibbs ran towards the door, Sid and the Admiral came back in with Tim and Bishop behind them.

"Good thing we hadn't finished decorating," observed Tony as he gazed at the hole in the ceiling.

"Are you all right?" asked Pru, as she ran towards Tony.

"I'm fine," said Tony automatically, "or I will be. I've been hit harder … by Gibbs."

"State police are on their way, Boss," said McGee.

"The Director told the FBI what was going on," said Ellie, "they jammed all electronic signals going into the Admiral's estate so the people inside don't know what's happening. FBI have got a watch on the place."

"What about my family?" asked Salter.

"They're fine, Sir," said Bishop. "The American embassy in Fiji got the Nauru police to check on them. It looks as if someone might have sabotaged their internet and phone which was why we couldn't reach them. Seems they're used to being out of contact so they hadn't even realised."

"Thank God," said the Admiral, slumping back in his chair. "How did you get here so fast, Agent Gibbs?"

"We've been staying here," said Gibbs, "I was in the store room when our 'visitors' arrived."

"I came here because I thought Tony would be the best person to sound the alarm," said the Admiral, "I thought you'd gone away. I tried to tip you off when you came to visit but I didn't think it had worked."

"Why did you make such a fuss about the photo, Sir?" asked McGee.

"I didn't want my captors to think I was letting you take photos of anything in the background," said the Admiral, "they wouldn't have stood for that but I knew there was nothing to see in a picture of the house."

"Apart from your pin being upside down," said Gibbs.

"You spotted that?" said Salter.

"DiNozzo did," said Gibbs with a hint of pride. "But we were already suspicious."

"You were? You mean you weren't just dropping by to see a friend of your father, Agent McGee?"

"No, Sir," said McGee.

"You were very convincing," said the Admiral, "although your reputation goes before you, Agent Gibbs and I thought it was unusually mellow of you to allow your agent time off for a social call."

Gibbs smiled. "Age … DiNozzo called me up earlier in the week. He thought there was something odd going on. Said that your vehicles were allowed on to the base without much checking. That you looked uneasy when you saw him, as if you might have been trying to tell him something."

"You came up here for that?" said the Admiral in some disbelief.

"DiNozzo was a good agent," said Gibbs, "I trusted his instincts."

"Thank God you did, Agent Gibbs," sighed Salter.

"What were they up to?" asked Tony. "And who are they? They have an accent I can't place."

"Don't know," said the Admiral, "they were careful not to let me know too much. Used those fake names. They kept me locked up a lot."

"What do we do now, Boss?" asked Ellie.

"We need an ambulance for these two," said Pru who had been checking on Fred and Joe. "And I think Ed could do with a check-up. As could you, my love," she said, patting Tony on the shoulder.

Before Tony could reply, a State trooper came in. "Lieutenant Flanders, Maine State Police. Who's Agent McGee?" he asked.

"That's me," said Tim, "the situation is under control now. But we need you to keep these three in custody. And two of them need medical treatment as well."

"Hi, Craig," said Tony, "don't let anyone touch the van out front. It may have explosives or something in it."

"You know the State troopers?" said McGee.

"Sure," said Tony.

" _You're_ not a State trooper, are you?" asked McGee in sudden distrust.

"Tony?" chuckled Craig, "he wouldn't have the time!"

"No," said Tony, "I coach their basketball team sometimes."

"Not so much chitchat," ordered Gibbs, "this isn't a ladies' sewing circle."

"I don't know you are, Sir," said Craig, "but if you'd met the Trenchard Ladies' Sewing Guild you wouldn't want to suggest they're flighty gossips. Finest bunch of women I know, they're the real power in this community, I don't mind telling you."

Gibbs decided to ignore this byplay. "Bishop, McGee: we'll head up to the Admiral's place. See what's going on there. Lieutenant, can I leave these suspects with you? Take the Admiral to hospital like Pru said."

"And Tony," said Pru.

"I'm fine," said Tony, "I'm not concussed. Believe me, I'd know."

"You sounded as if you were in agony," observed Salter as he allowed himself to be led away.

"That was the idea," said Tony, "hoped it would get our 'friends' to lower their guard. And, Gibbs, good timing. It was like old times."

Gibbs simply nodded briefly before heading out. Pru saw Tony looking a little wistful as he watched the MCRT go.

"Do you miss it?" she asked.

"What? Being held at gunpoint and hit over the head with a gun?" he joked. "Sometimes," he admitted more seriously, "but what I've got here more than makes up for it. Come on, we've got some tidying up to do."

NCISNCIS

Some hours later, as darkness fell, Tony and Pru were half-heartedly watching TV when there was a tap at the kitchen door and Ellie came in.

"Hi," said Pru, "we've eaten but there's some meatloaf keeping warm."

"Oh," said Ellie, "that's kind but I haven't come back to eat."

"Where are Gibbs and McGee?" asked Tony.

"Gibbs sent me back," said Bishop, "to pack up."

"You've finished already?" said Tony in surprise.

"No. We're going to be based in Portsmouth for a few days," said Ellie, "there's a lot to do looking into security there and making sure nothing's already gone wrong. And we've got work to do at the Admiral's place. Gibbs thinks it'll be more efficient to stay on the base."

"Of course," said Tony colourlessly.

"It was nice to meet you, Ellie," said Pru, sensing something was wrong, "is there anything we can do to help?"

"No," said Ellie, "you've been really kind. McGee says for you to send the bill to NCIS."

"Bill?" said Tony.

"You know. The account for the bed and breakfast. For the meals. We don't want you to be out of pocket."

"Oh," said Pru, "oh, but we wouldn't charge you. You're …"

"Tell McAccountant that we'll do that," said Tony interrupting Pru.

"Great," said Ellie doubtfully. "I'd better be going. Gibbs is …"

"In Captain Ahab mode," suggested Tony.

Ellie frowned and then her face cleared, "Hey, that's a great way of describing it. You've got a good handle on Gibbs, haven't you?"

"Not now, once – perhaps," said Tony. "And you're right, you'd better be going."

"Thank you," said Ellie, "for everything. It was great to meet you. To put a face to the legend!" She hugged Pru and Tony, "perhaps we'll see you before we go back to DC?"

"Yeah, sure," said Tony.

After Ellie left, Pru poured two glasses of wine and put one in front of Tony.

"Do you think we'll ever find out what it was all about?" she asked.

Tony touched her glass with his in a toast, "Doubt it, this has got classified written all over it. And Gibbs isn't really into sharing."

Pru took a sip of her wine and then said a little hesitantly, "Can I ask you something?"

Tony smiled, "of course. You don't need to ask, you know that."

"Why did you call Gibbs?"

"I was right," said Tony a little defensively, "there was something wrong."

"I know that. I wasn't saying you were wrong. No, I meant why you contacted Agent Gibbs directly. You could have contacted security at Portsmouth or called someone else at NCIS. You didn't have to call Gibbs."

Tony raised his glass in another toast, "Brains as well as beauty. I knew there was a reason I love you. I thought it was time. NCIS, Gibbs, was a big part of my life for a few years and I walked out of it and it hurt. It took a long time to come to terms with what happened. I haven't heard from Gibbs in years. I guess I thought that this could be a way to talk to him at last. Finally to heal some wounds." Pru took his hand in sympathy. "Doesn't look as if that's going to happen," he added bitterly. "Still, on the bright side we can send them a bill!"

* * *

 _AN: just one more chapter to come, I think._


	6. Chapter 6

"Gibbs."

"Agent Gibbs, this is Pru. Pru Paston."

"Pru," acknowledged Gibbs, "what can I do for you?"

"Come to supper tomorrow. 8 o'clock. All of you, and stay the weekend."

Gibbs stared momentarily at his cell and wondered why Pru reminded him so much of the first colonel he served under.

"We'll be there," he replied and ended the call.

At the other end, Pru smiled when Gibbs agreed to come. It had been nearly a week since they had last seen or heard from Team Gibbs. Tony hadn't exactly been moping, they were all too busy for that but she was aware of a feeling of sadness about him and she didn't intend to let it continue if she could help it.

NCISNCIS

Pru was waiting for the MCRT when they pulled up the next evening; she directed them to the cabin.

"Tony's not back yet," she told them, "but he's on his way. Come through when you're ready."

Tim, Ellie and Gibbs stopped in astonishment when they came into the main house a short while later.

"Wow," said Ellie as she gazed round.

"Oh, yes," said Pru, "Mac worked hard this week. Finished off the big room. And then everyone pitched in to help move the furniture back in."

"It looks great," said McGee as he looked around. The wooden surfaces all glowed in the soft light, a fire burned in the grate and the furniture, well-polished by Gibbs, looked comfortable and inviting.

"Thanks," said Pru, "it was worth the wait."

"Honey, I'm home!" came Tony's voice as he came in through the kitchen. Pru sighed, this was obviously an old and well-worn joke. "And Team Gibbs too," said Tony, "taking a break from crime fighting duties!"

Tim was pleased to see that Tony was wearing a smart suit. It didn't look like one of the expensive designer suits from NCIS days but it was very acceptable in Tim's eyes. At first he thought that Tony must have yet another job, one which required a degree of formality but then he decided that it was more likely that he had been for an interview that day. He hoped it had been successful.

"All right, everyone," said Pru, "let's eat."

"Something puzzled me," said Tony, after they had been eating for a few minutes, "how did the bad guys find the Admiral here?"

"GPS locators," said McGee, "they'd planted them in most of his clothes. When they realised he'd gone they just tracked him."

"Can you tell us what it was all about?" asked Tony.

Gibbs shook his head, "Nope. It was a terrorist plot. A big one but it's being kept under wraps. The Director sends his thanks, by the way."

"Gee," said Tony, "that makes me feel better."

"Something puzzles _me_ ," said Gibbs.

"What?" said Tony.

"How did Pru know we were still in Maine?"

Tony laughed but it was Pru who replied, "difficult to keep a secret round here, Agent Gibbs. There's been a lot of activity round the Admiral's place."

"You been driving the school bus past there again, Tony?" asked McGee.

"No. The regular driver's back," said Tony. "But Pru's back visiting the Admiral."

"You're doing his care visits again?" said McGee.

"In a manner of speaking," said Pru, "he never wanted to stop being my patient but he didn't have any choice when those guys took over."

"Patient?" said Ellie.

"Pru's a doctor," said Tony, "didn't you know?"

"But you said you were doing care visits," said Tim.

"Did I?" said Pru, "well, that's what a doctor does when they visit a patient."

"But you said you'd been emptying a commode," said Tim, "do doctors do that?"

"They might not in a hospital," agreed Pru, "but out in the community things are different. What sort of person would I be if I left a commode full?" Tim didn't have an answer for that so kept silent.

"I'm just helping out," said Pru, "Dr Sinclair is out sick at the moment, and so I'm covering some of her patients. My main job is doing research into respiratory problems due to dust inhalation in saw mills. I'm interviewing people who've worked in the timber industry."

"The Admiral seems to have some breathing problems," noted Gibbs, "is that how he became your patient?"

Pru shrugged, "patient/doctor confidentiality, Agent Gibbs, I can't tell you."

"But I guess that might have made you more suspicious when rumours began to go round that he was suffering from dementia when you hadn't seen any signs of it," continued Gibbs.

Pru shrugged again, "get a court order and I might tell you. But not before."

"And I guess that's why you didn't answer when I called you Miss Paston," said Gibbs, "I don't need a court order to make you tell me that."

"No," Pru agreed, "I'm used to people calling me Pru or Dr Paston."

"Or Mrs DiNozzo," suggested Tony.

"Or Mrs DiNozzo," nodded Pru.

"You're married?" asked Ellie.

"Sure," said Tony, looking surprised.

"You don't wear wedding bands," McGee pointed out.

"It's a symbol of patriarchy and male dominance," said Pru, "and I don't subscribe to that view of our relationship."

"Oh," said Ellie, slightly taken aback, "I see."

"And," said Tony, "the wedding band is away at the jewellers being resized."

Pru grinned, "Yes, there is that. It's too small, I've put on weight since we got married."

"And what's your excuse?" McGee asked Tony.

"Mine's too big," said Tony, "kept falling off. So they're both at the jewellers."

"To Anthony and Prudence DiNozzo," said McGee raising his glass in a toast.

"Oh," said Pru, "it's not Prudence. It's Pruella."

"Which nearly caused a beautiful relationship to die before it started," said Tony.

"He thought I said 'Cruella'," said Pru, "and he launched into this long critique of '101 Dalmatians'. I thought he was mad."

"You were probably right," said Tim meditatively, causing everyone to laugh.

At the end of the meal Pru managed to steer Ellie and Tim back into the cabin leaving Gibbs and Tony alone.

"Gibbs," began Tony.

"I think your _wife_ wants us to talk, DiNozzo," said Gibbs at the same time, "so perhaps we should …"

"I can't find Roger," a voice interrupted them.

Gibbs looked across the room to where the sound had come from. He saw a small boy, dressed in pyjamas, looking a little lost.

"Come on," said Tony, "we'll go find him," he stood up and walked across to the little boy who said,

"Can't I stay here? I haven't seen you for a lo-o-ng time."

"OK," said Tony, picking him up and coming to sit down opposite Gibbs, "but I did see you at breakfast, you know. Sit here a while and then we'll go and find Roger."

The child nodded happily and then leaned into Tony in sudden shyness when he saw a man he didn't recognise.

"This is Special Agent Gibbs," said Tony, "you can trust him. He used to be my Boss. Gibbs, this is my son. Thomas, Tom. He's four and a half."

"Four years seven months," corrected Tom.

"Nice to meet you, Tom," said Gibbs gravely. "Where have you been hiding? I didn't see you when I was staying in the cabin."

"We was staying with some friends," explained Tom, "'cos when Uncle Mac started doing the work Mommy and Daddy thought it would be safer for us not to be here. But I'm glad Uncle Mac has finished now." He yawned and leaned a bit more heavily into Tony.

" _We?"_ queried Gibbs.

"Tom and his sister Hannah. We sent them to stay a couple of houses away. Hannah's two and a half."

"What about Roger?" asked Gibbs trying to keep track of the DiNozzo family, "where does he fit in?"

"Roger the rhinoceros," said Tony, "Tom can't go to sleep without him but manages to keep losing him."

"That's not quite true," said Gibbs.

"What?" asked Tony.

"Your son can go to sleep without Roger … he just has."

"Oh, yeah. Look at that," said Tony with a smile, "I'd better get him to bed." He picked the little boy up, "I'm going to bed as well, Gibbs. It's been a long week. See you in the morning."

Gibbs watched with a smile as Tony walked away cradling the child in his arms.

NCISNCIS

Gibbs got up early the next morning and went to sit by the lake. Pru brought him a mug of coffee and sat down next to him nursing her own drink.

"Tony likes this spot as well," she said.

"Where is he?" Gibbs asked.

"I left him in bed. Tom and Hannah crept in first thing. I try to give them time together at the weekends, our weeks are so hectic."

"I didn't know you had children," said Gibbs.

"Didn't you? It wasn't a secret. Seems you don't know much about us. Tony was convinced that you'd have had Tim do a background search on us."

"No need to do that," said Gibbs, "I didn't think DiNozzo would have been up to anything criminal."

"Is that the only thing you'd be interested in?" asked Pru.

"I met Tom last night," said Gibbs, ignoring Pru's question, "good kid."

"Yes," said Pru, "we're lucky. Tom looks more like me but Han is all her daddy. They're both strong characters: we've got some battles to look forward to."

"How did you meet Tony?" asked Gibbs.

"I'd just been to an interview for a job at a hospital in Bangor. I went to see a movie."

"You a movie buff like DiNozzo?"

Pru laughed, "Nobody likes movies as much as Tony! No, it was raining. I had two hours to kill before my flight and I wanted somewhere warm and dry to wait. It was some cult foreign language movie. Tony was about the only other person in the movie theatre and we got talking. He thought I was another movie fanatic! He soon found out I wasn't but it stop him trying to convince me that I should be."

"DiNozzo and his films," chuckled Gibbs.

"He was interesting," Pru said defensively, "I've always liked listening to him. We liked each other from the beginning. I told him I'd be working in Bangor. He was drifting around but decided he'd stay put for a while. I think he was looking to put down some roots."

"And you?"

"I'd just come out of a messy relationship. I wasn't looking for anything permanent but the idea of having a friend in a strange place seemed good. And it worked."

"But you're not at Bangor now?"

"No. I quit when Tom was born. I do research now and help out with local clinics. And when we found this house it was too far to travel."

"You don't come from Maine?"

"No. I'm from Chicago. We both come from big cities and never thought we'd like to live outside of one. But it turns out we do. We like being part of a community. Helping out."

"Is that why Tony does all these odd jobs?"

"I guess so. Partly."

"What you mean, partly?"

"When I first knew him he was carrying a burden of guilt. He's never told me much about it. Guess it's classified but it means he always feels he has to do the right thing. Says he didn't do it once and he couldn't deal with the fallout. He drives himself hard."

"He looks well on it," commented Gibbs.

"He had pneumonia in the winter," said Pru, "was sick for a while. That's why some of his clothes are too big. Why he can't wear his wedding band. I'm trying to get him to ease off."

"Good luck with trying to get him to do what he doesn't want to," said Gibbs.

"I'll do it," said Pru, "I care too much to let him kill himself. I won't let him shut himself off."

"Does he do that?"

"Not so much since the children came. They've been good for him. But before, he'd get low if he thought he let me down."

"And did he? Let you down?"

"No, Agent Gibbs, never."

"Call me, Jethro. I'm not at work now."

"I think I'll wait on that if you don't mind. Until I know if you're going to be a friend."

Gibbs nodded; he found himself approving Pru's reticence.

"Come and have breakfast," said Pru, "Tony will be up by now."

Gibbs followed Pru back to the house where they found Tony cooking breakfast. Tim and Ellie were there too. Ellie was playing with Tom and Hannah who were happily showing her all their toys. Gibbs realised that Pru was right about Hannah who had Tony's eyes and charming smile. He suppressed a grin at the rattled expression on Tim's face as he tried to come to terms with the idea of Tony having two small children and being happy about it.

After breakfast Pru took the children off for haircuts and a promise of ice-creams while Tim and Ellie went back to the cabin to work on their reports; they would be going back to DC after the weekend with the promise of some days off if everything was up to date.

Gibbs felt that the 'price' of the weekend was the talk with Tony so he went in search of his host. He found Tony in what Pru had told him was one of his favourite places, sitting by the lake.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," replied Tony.

Gibbs sat down beside him. "Gibbs, you don't have to talk if you don't want to. You don't have to let Pru manage you like she manages me."

"You look OK on it," observed Gibbs.

"It still feels odd having someone who cares enough to do it," said Tony, "and I don't think it'll ever get old."

"Hard to imagine you letting anyone 'manage' you," said Gibbs.

"I don't mind. Didn't Shannon manage you sometimes?"

Gibbs thought it showed a change in their relationship. In the old days Tony would never have brought up Shannon's name; his first marriage was a no-go area. Now he found that he didn't really mind. "I guess," he said.

"So, like I said, just because she organises me you don't have to let her organise you," said Tony looking out over the lake.

"I think your wife is a pretty shrewd woman," said Gibbs. "I wouldn't mind betting she is a leading light in that Trenchard Ladies' Sewing Guild your lieutenant was speaking so highly of."

"You'd lose your money, Gibbs. She can barely thread a needle. We have to outsource all this family's sewing."

"Anyway," said Gibbs, "I trust Pru's instincts when she thinks we should talk."

"Gibbs, I _thought_ I wanted to talk to you. Guess that's why I called you but there's nothing new I can say to you. I know I screwed up in LA all those years ago. I can't make it better."

"According to Pru, you've been trying. All this helping people out. Sort of a penance."

"It started out that way but I think I do it now because it feels like the right thing to do. Delivering the taffy for Millicent is nothing for me but it makes a big difference to her. Pru picking up the seed potatoes for Chet and me driving them to him – well, the same really. Every little helps. It's part of living in a small community. And the neighbours came and helped us put the house back to rights and they took Tom and Hannah in for us. It works both ways."

"And driving the school bus, marking out the pitches and digging out ditches? Is that the same?"

Tony shrugged but didn't answer directly. "I reckon it's taken all these years for me to think I could face you at last," said Tony, "I know it was cowardly not to tell you I was quitting but, at the time, it was more than I could handle. I could still see the expression on your face when you came to that diner in the desert; I couldn't stand the thought of seeing all that pain again."

"DiNozzo," said Gibbs, "Jenny's death was not your fault. No, let me say this," he put up his hand to prevent Tony interrupting, "I was sad and angry that Jenny had died. There had been a time when we had been close, we might even have got married … that was over by the time she became Director but it didn't mean I didn't care."

"I know, Gibbs. When you care about someone you don't usually let go of them," said Tony softly.

"So, I was grieving for Jenny; wishing she hadn't gone off like she did. Ditching you and Ziva was a pretty stupid thing to do."

"And you thought that you would have stopped her if you'd been there."

"I still think I would have," said Gibbs.

Tony took an anguished breath and began to speak but Gibbs prevented him again.

"I think I would have because I would have been there in a different way. I'd have been there as a friend, someone who'd loved her once and that would have made me act differently. Which she would have hated! But I probably wouldn't have let her out of my sight. But you couldn't do that, Tony. The only relationship you had with her was that of Director/Agent. You didn't have the leeway that I had. You went above and beyond what you were required to do on that assignment. It wasn't your fault. I mean that. And I'm sorry that I didn't say that convincingly enough at the time. I meant it even then but I was so angry about the situation that I couldn't be rational about it. And I forgot that you were grieving too. And I forgot that you were a fine agent who hated to fail. I let you down, Tony."

"Wow," said Tony, "I don't think you've ever said that many words all at once to me."

"And I was going to write you on the Ronald Reagan and tell you," said Gibbs, "once I'd calmed down about Vance being an idiot and posting you away. And then he told me that you'd quit."

"You still could have," said Tony, "NCIS had my contact details. My mail was being redirected from the apartment."

"I know," said Gibbs.

"Why didn't you?"

"I thought about it. And then I decided it was better not to."

"What?"

"I decided that you were better off out of NCIS. Vance hated me. He was going to hate you out of principle because he could see that you and I were similar. That we had a bond."

"You didn't write me because you thought you should protect me from Vance?" said Tony sceptically.

"No. I decided not to write because I thought you were better off without _me_ ," said Gibbs.

"Say that again."

"I wasn't sure I was good for you, Tony. I thought back to when you started at NCIS. How eager you were, how enthusiastic, how … _joyful_ you were. And I realised that I'd knocked some of that out of you. I was a dour miserable bastard and I seemed to be trying to turn you into one too. And you were good at the job, very good. I had this picture of five or six years down the line of me resenting you. I like to be in charge, Tony and you were ready to be in charge too and I wasn't sure that I'd handle you being confident and bucking for more responsibility. I could see that I'd be holding you back all the time, trying to squash you. 'Cos I knew I wouldn't want to let you go, go on to take your own team but I'd keep you trapped, tied to me. Because I can be real selfish."

"Wow, Gibbs. When you decide to talk, you decide to talk," said Tony.

"So, I had the letter all written out. Explaining that I didn't blame you. That I'd twist Vance's arm to let you come back and I had this moment of clarity. That it would be better if you didn't come back. Better for _you_ ; not for me. So I didn't write. I decided I should let you go."

"I was wrong," said Tony after a moment or two, "Pru isn't the first person who's been managing me. You were doing it too. It was a pretty brutal way of doing it, Boss. You didn't think of putting all that in a letter? You know, a middle way?"

"I don't do middle ways," said Gibbs ruefully. "I did what I thought was best."

"Don't know what to say, Gibbs. It was painful. Like an amputation. It was tough believing that I had let you down. I'd spent a long time trying to live up to your expectations, your standards and I was pretty sure I'd failed spectacularly and that you hated me. I don't know how I would have got through it without Pru."

"You'd have made it," said Gibbs firmly, "you're the strongest person I know. You just hide it, like you hide lots of stuff."

He put a hand on Tony's shoulder and they sat there for a few minutes.

"Thanks, Gibbs," said Tony finally, "I'm not sure you were right but … well, thanks."

"You sure you don't want your old job back?" said Gibbs only half joking, "that was a pretty good catch you made."

"Hell of a commute," said Tony in the same vein, "and we've only just got the house straight."

"Fair enough," said Gibbs, "let me know if you change your mind. I'd enjoy the fight with Vance!"

"It's an interesting thought," said Tony, "but I think I'll pass."

"Tony," said Gibbs in a more serious tone, "when you called, I didn't hesitate. I trusted you that day just like I've always trusted you. And when I saw you standing there, stinky as you were, I realised how much I'd missed you. It felt almost like coming home."

"Thanks, Gibbs. I missed you too."

NCISNCIS

When she got back from her errands, Pru went into the cabin to tell Ellie and Tim it was time for lunch.

"Er, Pru," said Tim diffidently, "did Tony go for an interview today?"

"What makes you think that?" said Pru.

"He was wearing a suit," said Tim, "I haven't seen him wear one since we've been here. I thought perhaps he'd gone for a job interview."

"No. He's got a job," said Pru.

"Oh," said Tim, "I guess he knew they weren't going to make him dig out any ditches today."

"I guess," agreed Pru.

"I guess they get him to do some clean work sometimes,"

"Sometimes," smiled Pru.

As they all sat at lunch, Pru said, "Tom and Hannah have a birthday party this afternoon. We've got to drive them there. Why don't you all come with us? There's a good coffee shop we can wait at. They sell Millicent's saltwater taffy there. You can buy some to take back to DC. Every little helps."

Tony looked suspiciously at Pru as he recognised the cunning look on her face. Gibbs thought that somehow this wasn't a casual suggestion but decided to go along with it: Pru had looked approvingly at him when he and Tony returned from their talk and he found that he wanted to keep on her good side. McGee and Bishop were accustomed to follow Gibbs' lead so fell in with the plan.

Tony took Tom and Hannah in Columbus while the others piled into Pru's jeep agreeing to meet at the coffee shop. As Pru drove along, McGee suddenly said,

"Hey, this is where we met Tony the other day."

Pru obligingly slowed down, "Oh," she said innocently, "the school sign has been put back up."

The others remembered that Tony had said it was down for repainting. Pru seemed to want them to admire the paintwork so they obligingly leant forward to read, 'Wood Lake High School' and underneath the school name 'Principal Anthony DiNozzo.' Pru smiled smugly and carried on driving.

Tony was waiting for them at the coffee shop.

"I ordered for you," he said, "they do toffee donuts here. I got us some. What's the matter?"

"You're the school _principal_ ," said McGee.

"Yes, I know," said Tony.

" _They_ didn't," said Pru.

"You dig ditches," said Tim.

"And drive the bus," said Ellie.

"Not all the time," protested Tony.

"And you went and cleaned windows," said Tim.

"No, I didn't. There was a problem with the contract. I went and sorted it out. I never said I cleaned the windows. Though I would if I had to."

"Pru said that Ike took advantage of you," said Ellie.

"It was a joke," said Tony.

"No," said Pru, "he does take advantage of you."

"No, he doesn't," said Tony firmly, "or not much. It's good for people to see that I'll muck in. That I'll do what's needed."

"I can't believe you're the principal," said Tim in a voice which bordered on being a wail.

"What did you think I did there?" asked Tony.

"We thought perhaps you were the school handyman," said Tim, "doing lots of odd jobs."

"Oh," said Tony as he thought over what had happened the first days of the MCRT's visit.

"How did you get to be principal?" asked McGee.

"I've only just become principal," said Tony, "I was the deputy for two years then I got the job this semester."

"I didn't know you were a teacher," said Ellie.

"I wasn't," said Tony, "but my phys-ed degree had a teaching element to it. And I did a masters in educational psychology." He looked at Tim. "You must have known that I had a masters. Can't be senior field agent without one. When I left NCIS I didn't think I'd get another job in law enforcement so I thought about teaching. I did the extra work to get my teacher's certificate while I did some sports coaching. Started teaching piano as well."

"What did you teach at school?" asked Gibbs.

"Some sports, of course. But I qualified in English and Spanish. Did some of each."

"I can't believe it," said McGee, "you're all grown up."

"Have a donut, Probie," said Tony, "you look as if you need it. Gibbs, those rules?"

"What about them?"

"Isn't there one about 'never assume'?"

"Yes."

"I think Tim just broke it!"

* * *

 _AN: Congratulations to angelscatie for being the first one to guess that Tony was the school principal._

 _Thank you to everyone who came along for the ride. I've put the characters back in their box but I'm keeping hold of Pru, Tom and Hannah._

 _It was fascinating to read all the speculation about what Tony and Pru might be up to – I think it shows that you've all got better imaginations than me!_


End file.
